Kaidon Salter explains what made Colorado the right fit for him

As Colorado heads into the post-Shedeur Sanders era, what happens at quarterback will be fascinating. There has been a compelling competition going on for the job this spring, between former Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and freshman Julian Lewis.

Lewis is the young, hotshot recruit. He was a high four-star prospect and a top-60 recruit nationally.

Kaidon Salter has a lot more experience after tearing it up at Liberty for the past three years. So why exactly did Salter choose Colorado, a place he knew he’d face some stiff competition?

“I just felt like I fell in love with the offense,” Salter said recently. “Being able to have explosive receivers and have a group of coaches and people around me that would support and only want the better for me.”

Kaidon Salter certainly has the chops for it. He has thrown for 5,848 yards and 55 touchdowns, against just 17 interceptions over the last three seasons. He’s also added 1,960 yards rushing and 17 scores on the ground.

That’s elite production. Now the question is whether he can scale it up. He thinks that won’t be a problem.

“We have a fully loaded staff up here that knows what it takes to get to the next level,” Salter said. “And with me having one more year I just wanted to come up here and learn from the best.”

Whether that means Kaidon Salter will win the job remains to be seen. Head coach Deion Sanders recently shot down a report that Lewis might redshirt this season, keeping the competition alive and well.

Lewis is no slouch, either. As a member of the Class of 2024, Lewis was a four-star recruit out of Carrollton (Ga.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 7 overall prospect in the state, the No. 7 quarterback in the class and the No. 56 overall prospect in the class.

But for now, Colorado is still learning what both players can do. Both Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis are newcomers.

“Totally different,” Sanders said of the top two quarterbacks. “They can play man, but they approach the game totally different. But we got to be better and coaching to their strengths, we got to be better to put them in the right situations for success, but those guys can play.”